Springorchid Files

Most dieticians will tell you to eat a lot of vegetables for weight loss. Many recipes are cold salads which are unappetizing to Chinese. Let me counter with 6 Chinese weight loss soup ideas.

A couple of years ago, I lost weight after consuming a Chinese soup for lunch for 2 weeks. So, I know that weight loss soup works. The problem was that I got bored after a while. Recently, a fitness instructor shared his weight loss soup dinner ideas, and I was inspired to round up the recipes.

Napa Cabbage Tofu Soup 白菜豆腐汤

This is a high fiber high protein soup. The basic ingredients are napa cabbage and firm tofu. Omnivore’s Cookbook offers a recipe suitable for the Western palate.

A written recipe is available at Napa Cabbage Tofu Soup (白菜豆腐汤) – Omnivore’s Cookbook (omnivorescookbook.com).

Omnivore’s recipe uses chicken broth and chicken bouillon to enhance the flavour of the soup. The Chinese recipe below uses fried eggs instead. Using fried eggs to enhance the flavour of a soup is a common technique used by the budget-conscious in China. Not everybody can afford chicken or pork to make stock.

Many people on a weight loss plan tends to avoid eggs although I think it increases satiety.

Daikon Radish Soup with Fried Egg 萝卜鸡蛋汤

This daikon radish fried egg soup is high in protein and low in carbohydrates. The basic ingredients are shredded daikon radish and fried eggs.

Daikon radish has a bite so cooking it well is important. But it can turn mushy soft when it is overcooked. Shredding it is a brilliant idea. The video tutorial below shows us how to make a single portion using one of those electric pot with a ceramic interior (https://amzn.to/47Kf8bZ).

The tips are: [1] Lightly fry the shredded radish first. [2] Add hot water to the fried eggs. [3] Bring everything to a boil before adding the shredded radish.

There is a written recipe at Carrot Shredded Egg Soup | Miss Chinese Food but the English is not too good. I think the author used Google Translate.

Here is a version using shrimps rather than eggs.

I also found a Japanese version that contained tofu. The radish is sliced thinly instead of shredded and the eggs are dropped into the soup and not fried.

Cucumber Egg Soup 黄瓜鸡蛋汤

Cucumber is most often used in salads, pickles, and cold dishes. Let’s try making it into a weight loss soup, a hot cucumber soup.

The trick is not to overcook the cucumber. In the video tutorial below, the cucumber is peeled, deseeded, and cut into fairly large pieces. The egg drop technique she uses produces “big flowers” which is appropriate for this clear soup.

The written recipe can be found at Super simple Cucumber and Egg Soup 黄瓜鸡蛋汤 | Chinese Healthy Cooking.

The next recipe is a rustic Southeast Asian cucumber egg soup. The eggs are fried together with the cucumber slices before hot water is added. Seasoned with a bit of salt, sugar and pepper.

Broccoli Shrimp Soup 西兰花虾仁汤

Broccoli soup is usually creamy or a chowder. But it can be made into a clear soup too. The recipe below uses fresh shrimp heads to make the soup stock. It is optional, especially for people who already have high cholesterol. Just use a basic soup stock.

Soups made with broccoli and fresh shrimps are low in carbohydrates. To up the protein content, add some soft tofu.

Wakame Shrimp Soup 裙带菜虾仁汤

Wakame (https://amzn.to/3P2D43p) is a type of Japanese seaweed commonly found in miso soup. It is usually sold dried. To rehydrate, soak in room temperature water.

If the fresh shrimps came with the heads, do not throw them away. Use them to enhance the flavour of the soup. See the video tutorial below.

For those concerned about cholesterol, the recipe below is for you.

Tomato Egg Soup 番茄蛋花汤

Chinese tomato egg drop soup is a popular home cooked dish. There are many variations. The recipe from Rosalina’s kitchen is my favourite as I like the eggs in this soup to be billowy.

Another version is a thickened soup using cornstarch as a thickening agent.

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Happy cooking!

Feature images:

• Napa cabbage – Image by wufuquan from Pixabay
• Daikon radish – Image by kungfunamhuynhdao from Pixabay
• Cucumber – Image by ❤ Monika 💚 💚 Schröder ❤ from Pixabay
• Broccoli – Image by Robert Owen-Wahl from Pixabay
• Tomato – Image by Erwin Gabler from Pixabay
• Tofu – Photo by Polina Tankilevitch